The group said it had made an encouraging start to the year, despite the ongoing falls in commercial property values. It said that the deals it entered into in the first quarter should deliver higher development profits than those for the whole of last year, providing completions occur as planned.
During the year, the group has helped in the sale of a 4.5 acre site in Nine Elms for a residential-led regeneration scheme for £80m and is now due a significant profit-related fee. It has also completed the 160,000 sq ft refurbishment of the former David Morgan department store in Cardiff and secured letting for all but 6% of the stores. It said that it continues to make good progress in pre-letting its retail warehouse schemes in Poland.
This is a more upbeat statement than that issued in June, when chief executive Mike Slade warned that the worst was to come for the commercial property market as the company revealed a loss in its full-year results. At the time, the group reported an 11% write-down in valuations, with a further 5% expected for this year.
The shares rose 3.75p to 281p on this, more positive, statement. They have been as high as 515p, but have not suffered the setbacks of some of their peers. The group was loss-making last year and is unlikely to see a substantial turnaround in fortunes this year despite this more upbeat outlook. The shares look too risky in this environment.